Andrew House“Today, I’m pleased to announce that PlayStation VR will launch globally in October 2016 for 399 dollars US …”

And with that, the console virtual reality race is on.

Sony’s PlayStation VR headset will launch a right before the key end-of-year sales period at a price significantly cheaper than competing products.

The Oculus Rift will cost $599 and the HTC Vive will cost $799, so that potentially gives Sony a big advantage.

“We’re proud of the price point we’ve been able to achieve because it means more gamers will be able to bring PlayStation VR into their living rooms.”

Perhaps the only disappointment for gamers is that the PlayStation VR is coming later than initially promised in the first half of this year, but Sony says the delay gives them time to build enough headsets and for developers to finish their games.

So what of those games?

In VR, expect games that immerse you in a digital world.

This is Battlezone.

As you scoot around the battle field, you can look in all directions to see where the baddies are. Typically, you’d have to do this with the controller, but in VR you just move your head. And when planes attack, you end up craning your neck to find them in the sky above.

Playing it is quite unlike gaming on a television.

“You made it, well done.”

Fancy being in a shark cage when a shark attacks? Sony’s PlayStation VR Worlds will take you there. Or perhaps mechanized combat is more your thing? Or the slightly bizarre world of Playroom VR.

Game developers hope that these titles will attract people to VR gaming and expand the audience for console games. The technology will keep getting better and the experience more realistic, but first it needs to be popular. The short-lived 3D phase is all too fresh in many people’s minds, but the consensus is that VR will be here to stay. Sony’s lower cost VR headset could help cement that. It’s going to be a competitive year for game makers.